Only When It Matters Most
by Bituminous
Summary: Colonnello finally discovers Lal Mirch is a member of the Vongola Family. Colonnello fears that sooner or later he will no longer continue to love Lal. Adult!ColonnelloxAdult!Lal. Chapter 4! Sorry for the wait!
1. The Truth About You

Colonnello caught up to the shady-looking man at the entrance of his military base, when the man was about to leave. He was very skeptical as to what sort of business the man might have to even be in the COMSUBIN headquarters, because Colonnello was 100-percent certain this man was not an officer. He did not really care what the man would be doing in general; Colonnello's interest was particularly fixed on how the man was connected to his lieutenant.

"You're wasting your time." The man spoke to Colonnello before he could even say anything.

The mysterious man was wearing his black-colored fine Italian suit. With a blue tie and a maroon shirt on the inside. His trademark would probably have been his black fedora with an orange lining and an odd leaf-green lizard perched on it. Or it could have been his spiral-shaped sideburns. The pair bead-black eyes were still sharp with a vision possibly over 20/20. Without a doubt he was suspicious-looking, but he was not at all to be disrespected.

"Who are you?" Colonnello asked the man. He wasn't sure of the best way to express his doubt so he asked the first question that (in his mind) sounded relevant enough.

"I don't think that's any of your business." The man chuckled, half-smiling at Colonnello. In his mind, the man was actually quite surprised that Colonnello did not have even a slight idea of his identity. This man had quite a reputation.

"Who sent you?"

"Not your business."

"What were you doing here?" Colonnello continued, determined.

"That's not your business either." The man replied with a grin.

"What were you talking about with Lieutenant Mirch?" continued Colonnello as his tone grew colder and colder.

"Also not your business." The man actually seemed entertained in the situation.

It was a strange frustration that started to claw itself out from inside Colonnello. A little voice in his head told him to just beat the answers out of that man, and all other voices in his head that was arguing before agreed to do just that. Colonnello studied the man. He did not look like he was carrying some sort of weapon; Colonnello was confident enough in his strength as a military elite that he would be able to lift the man and force him to choke the information he needed out. So after some quick but careful thought he outstretched his right and as he lunged for the man's neck.

Reckless mistake, and Colonnello realized that after the split-second the situation changed and he found himself an arm's distance from the man with a gun pressed against his forehead. It was a surprise to Colonnello as he certainly did not notice the Glock (specifically, Glock 17 handgun) within the man's possession before. One thing he did notice though—in the midst of his confusion—was that the strange lizard on the man's fedora was not there anymore.

"You could've died an idiot." The man remarked. His grip still firm on the Glock and if he pulls the trigger, Colonnello knew he would die.

"Shit." Colonnello cursed himself.

"Crude and naïve. Don't they teach you not to underestimate an enemy?" the man said, smiling.

"Shut up." Colonnello said as he felt embarrassed with himself. He really should've known better.

The man put down his handgun; Colonnello felt relieved but strangely he only wanted to try choking the man again. Then to Colonnello's surprise, the Glock morphed into the weird green lizard as it climbed the man's arm and rested on his fedora.

"What the—?"

"Leon here is my partner." The man explained as he sensed Colonnello's vigorous curiousity. "He's a shapeshifting chameleon."

It sounded like some sort of bad joke from the way the man was grinning when he explained what the lizard—_chameleon_ was. But from what had happened Colonnello could only conclude that it was entirely real.

"Who are you?" Colonnello asked again. This time in a more interrogative manner.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you don't know." The man still maintained his courtesy. "I am the Vongola hitman, Reborn."

Now everything was puzzling as Colonnello racked through his mind to make sense of everything. The man named Reborn is a member of the Vongola. Colonnello may not have heard of Reborn, but everybody knows of the Vongola. The most powerful and influential _famiglia_ in all of Italy. Nobody would dare make them an enemy. What would Reborn then be doing in the COMSUBIN base? And why did he need to specifically have something to do with Lieutenant Mirch?

"What are you doing to Lieutenant Mirch?" Colonnello's aura changed when he talked of his lieutenant.

"Do you mean Lal Mirch? Not that it's any of your business."

"So you know her?! How?" he pressed on.

"You sound like a curious idiot. And you also sound like you care too much for Lal Mirch."

"She's my lieutenant! What is she hiding from me, Reborn?!" he raised his voice.

Reborn paused for a moment before answering, "You must be Colonnello."

"…How did you know that?" Colonnello questioned as he tried to calm himself down.

"Well, she's told me about you." Reborn smiled.

"What?! So what is going on between you two?"

"I don't have to answer that. But I guess I'll tell you that I'm not her enemy."

"Sounds convincing." Colonnello sneered.

"We have nothing to prove to you." Reborn remarked flatly. "I'm wasting my time here."

Reborn turned and walked three paces away before Colonnello shouted at him.

"Wait!" Colonnello called out. Reborn stopped, but he did not look back. He was waiting for Colonnello to say what he was meaning to say.

"Can we—I trust Lieutenant Lal Mirch?" he asked solemnly.

Reborn thought hard for a reply, because he himself was not sure how to answer the question. It wasn't really his intention to cause chaos among the COMSUBIN and as a respected _Mafioso_ he should not just spit out some random reply.

"That would be a question directed at Lal herself." He answered.

Reborn walked away after that. Colonnello did not stop him either; he was too preoccupied with his own questions now. Questions that were for Lieutenant Lal Mirch to answer.

Since he caught up to Reborn a few minutes before, Colonnello had forgotten how physically tired his body was after a long day training and all. He realized how he should be using the rest of his time for sleeping or resting his body because the next day: his trainer Lal Mirch will continue on with her Spartan training routine for him and his unfortunate fellow officers. Colonnello was weary and not at all eager on meeting her tomorrow. Perhaps he really was an idiot.

Colonnello was wide awake the next morning in his uniform in the barracks and almost ready to assemble in the hall. He only needed to tie his camouflage-print bandana around his messy blonde hair like always. The time was 4 o'clock in the morning. Most of the COMSUBIN had work starting at 5.30. The miserable ones with Lal Mirch as their trainer were doomed to start as early as 4.00. Colonnello headed out of the barracks and into the assembly hall when he finished tying his bandana and making sure it was on just right.

Not many people were in the assembly hall; Colonnello noticed Lieutenant Mirch sitting down on a chair and busy with whatever it was she was writing on her clipboard. She did not seem less prepared, however. Her Colt M4 was placed right next to the chair and her uniform was on properly; her hair seemed like it was perfectly treated and conditioned, despite the fact that it is impossible to do so in the COMSUBIN. She looked up at the standing men (still not all of them assembled) and noticed Colonnello. Lal did not realize she was staring at Colonnello for a suspiciously long time and when she finally realized it, all her men have already assembled.

Lal Mirch stood up and placed her clipboard on the chair and grabbed her M4. She fired three loud shots into the air and it was enough to silence the men and have them lined up properly. At ease position with their arms behind their backs and eyes straight to the front.

"It's nice to see you again, guys." Lal began, but she said it without a smile. "I hope none of you missed me too much." She sneered in light sarcasm.

Most of the officers regarded Lal Mirch as a mix between the ancient war god Ares and Helen of Troy. Nobody would deny that she was beautiful, but her Spartan regime outshone her beauty. In a way, it is a good thing to happen in the military. Lal was respected for her skills and feared for her ruthless methods; and it was because Lal was ambitious and easily bored, she would not waste time with weaklings. It was these qualities that made Lal Mirch the most capable trainer for the Italian naval elite, the COMSUBIN.

She walked through the rows studying her trainees, shoulder-arming the M4 machine gun. The men were trained to make poker faces while inside they felt like some ghosts were about to devour their hearts.

"Any of you cry in bed? Any of you write letters to your mommy? This place feels like hell yet?" she teased them as he walked.

Her presence was both relieving and terrifying to these men, depending on the situation. She stopped briefly at Colonnello though nobody noticed. Colonnello smiled thinly at her and it quickly vanished as his lieutenand stalked to the front.

"Attention!" she commanded to her squad. At once they shifted into "at attention" position. She order-armed her weapon; resting it on the ground and the tip touched the outer toes of her right boot, and supported by her right arm.

"I'll let you have fun today. We'll practice shooting." She grinned in excitement as she gestured toward her M4. Her eyes twinkled as she noticed some young men could not resist exclaim "Yes!" enthusiastically.

"Unfortunately," she continued "Most of you don't even know how to handle a weapon properly. So most of you won't be doing shooting ranges."

Then came some groans and sighs from her audience. She ignored it by mumbling "It's your own fault you're a bunch of weak scum!" and paced around the officers once more. Shoulder-arming her gun and tapping several men on the shoulder, Colonnello included. Then she went to the front again.

"Those of you who I tapped on the shoulder, you will be training with me. Best get prepared. The rest of you will train with Commander Orion until further notice. So the rest of you, you are dismissed. Don't waste my time." Announced Lal.

The chosen officers followed Lal Mirch to the weapons arsenal. Colonnello obtained his own personal G41 assault rifle. And from there, it was mostly Hell-by-Lal-Mirch-esque.

Colonnello stuck around the shooting range even after Lieutenant Mirch dismissed them at 5.00 half an hour later. He was practicing with his G41; and his accuracy was frightening. He never missed center target inside the shooting range with his concentration focused solely on the target. That is, until Lal Mirch approached him.

"Still here?" she asked as she joined in the shooting range and with her M4 and aimed at the target next to Colonnello's. Her precision is deadly as well. She was also more accustomed to the weapon than the rookie Colonnello.

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am." Mumbled Colonnello, his concentration deviated.

"Are you okay?" Lal was skeptical.

It was not like Colonnello to be so formal. He was once of the most troublesome of the new recruits, but also the most gifted. There was no need for him to be so proper with Lieutenant Lal Mirch, especially now that she regarded him as a close friend.

The officer let down his G41 and sighed as he stared at Lal Mirch's face and watch it turn faintly red. Colonnello's striking blue eyes had more of an effect on her than she expected. He did not say anything for a while. He just stared at her. It was sudden how he broke eye contact and turned away, saying:

"I met this guy who knows you or whatever."

"Um…what?" Lal too let down her weapon and looked at Colonnello.

There was a flash of worry in her eyes. But also a streak of anger. It was hard for Colonnello at that moment to look straight into those eyes. He was shivering very slightly.

"His name's Reborn. Yeah, that's it. He—"

"Where did you hear that from?!" Lal cut off, raising her voice a bit.

The tone was not a tone of fury but rather a cold, repulsive tone. Like if somebody wanted to condemn someone inside a church without screaming. Such a tone was much more horrible to endure than rants and shrieks or a normally-angered human.

"Like I said. I met him. _Yesterday afternoon_." It was hard for Colonnello to contain his own emotions.

"What were you doing talking to him?!"

"You were with him yesterday. I wanted to know what was going on." He answered truthfully. "Lal, what are you hiding from me?"

Lal Mirch could not believe it. It was a form of anguish and it tortured her terribly on the inside. Colonnello called her Lal in his last sentence—meaning he was very serious. So in a way, Lal felt like she had betrayed Colonnello when all she had been trying to do was protect him. She herself was not prepared for when her secret would be found out. She had imagined it to be a better situation. But what can she do? Colonnello already knows enough from Reborn; she cannot be immature or careless. Lal took a deep breath and held back what could have been a tear before striking Colonnello with the palm of her right hand.

It hit him pretty hard, and Colonnello did not foresee it coming at all. And it was a slap, not a hit. Colonnello expected Lal would hit him hard like men do when they're angry. She actually, genuinely slapped him. He winced in pain as he touched the part where it burns but he did not say a word. He just stared at Lal like before. And Lal was trembling when she confessed:

"He's from the Vongola right? He had a message for me; I am in the Vongola as well."

"You're kidding!"

"…dumbass." Scoffed Lal.


	2. My Hell and Nightmare

How did he first meet land himself with someone as troublesome as her? He had been in the COMSUBIN for several months at least under Lal Mirch's training. Maybe it was the pain of her hellish training program that made him forget. Then he thought of what Lal was doing at the moment; his insides squirmed as he realized he might have actually _hurt Lal's feelings_. Would she be crying at the moment? It sounded very unlikely. But then again, Colonnello didn't know what to do; situations like these never happened to him before. So what if she _was_ crying? He couldn't do anything about it anyway. And a part of him didn't _want_ to either.

"Damnit." Said Colonnello unconsciously. "She didn't need to hide it from me."

So what else did she hide from him? I guess when the illusion shatter everything does break to pieces and it does not fix quite right. Even if Lal no longer had anything to hide, Colonnello already felt betrayed. There was the mafia code of silence—the _omerta._ Lal was simply guarding the family's secret for her life. And yet it still doesn't seem fair, Colonnello was frustrated. So the Vongola was more important than he was? Or maybe she was keeping the secret to protect him? Why does she not trust him? _How does she feel for me anyway?_

Vongola family. Of all the crime families to serve. Mafia were repulsive men in Colonnello's opinion. Granted, the Vongola were noble in their actions and to be revered. But they looked like a bunch of cowards in black suits in his mind. Planning surreptitious deeds involving only the members of the family sounds immature. It is actually one of the reasons he joined the COMSUBIN. They take pride in what they do and would bet their lives in front of anybody and everybody. Much unlike the mafia.

"Tch. Whatever." He mumbled again.

Screw the _omerta_. That strange Reborn guy ended up telling him; and indubitably Reborn wouldn't have been death-sentenced. Saying that much wouldn't hurt anybody. So why did she hide it entirely? Reborn the Vongola hitman has a message for her—so she wasn't some random member, she was a respected figure. She really risked nothing in simply telling what Reborn told Colonnello.

"Shit…"

_Colonnello glanced around as he was part of an array consisting of about 160 soldiers in 8 rows. They were all new recruits to the elite COMSUBIN unit. Military men have been continuously drilled to keep their eyes straight to the front when assembled. They did just that and have their eyes focused on the three higher-ranking officers that were indubitably their trainers._

_The first trainer on the left was tall and he looked older than his actual age. He had pale skin and some streaks of grey hair that was due to aging as much as stress. His appearance made him more suited to teach chemistry than physically train men as military elites—but otherwise looked capable. There was not much to talk about regarding the man in the middle—he looked like a stereotypical military officer through and through. Broad-chested, brusque-figured but with a kind face. He seemed to be the most able of the three._

_All eyes were focused on the third officer, the female. It was obvious from the way some were noticeably gawking at her they found her extremely attractive. She was, Colonnello agreed mentally. But he was rather scared of her than thinking to flirt with her. While others focused on her chest, skirt length (just slightly above the knee) and flawless skin, Colonnello focused on her eyes. Her eyes were cold and hawklike—somewhat threatening. Then Colonnello turned his attention to the machine gun she held firmly at rest near her right leg, and he grimaced slightly._

_The man in the middle stepped forward._

"_Attention!" he grunted. And the soldiers went "at attention" in unison. The two men looked pleased while Colonnello just barely caught the female rolling her eyes._

"_For the next weeks or so we will be your trainers. Ergo you will treat us with respect and address us properly. My name's Orion. Rank Commander. To my left and right are Lieutenant Juventus and Lieutenant Mirch."_

"_Here are the names of who's going with whom." Juventus spoke, indicating to the clipboard he was holding. So he read the names one by one. Colonnello was assigned to Lieutenant Mirch._

_Colonnello and the other officers under Mirch assembled at 5 AM. Lal looked sharp and alert like she always has and did not bother with greeting them politely._

"_Fix your formation." She retorted. "It's revolting. You brats lack discipline. Fix it now."_

_The soldiers rustled for a while to make sure they were in perfect alignment. Sometimes they were stepping on each other's toes and did not know how far distance it should be between each soldier. Were these guys really the elite? Other officers would have been fine with their previous formation. Only Lal Mirch would be unsatisfied. So they rustled for about enough time to irritate Lal Mirch._

"_Well, how hard would it be to do it right in the first place? There are hardly any second chances here. Get that through your airheaded minds." She muttered as soon as they were in a perfect-er formation._

_From there, they realized Lal Mirch rarely spoke to them in sentences without insulting them. She took the machine gun that seemed to never leave her side and rested them on her shoulder._

"_In case you Neanderthals weren't capable of memory: I am Lieutenant Lal Mirch. You are to address me as 'Lieutenant' or 'Ma'am'. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!" replied the soldiers in spite of shock. Lal Mirch was definitely not what they were looking forward to meet._

_For a while Lal stood and stared at the array. At first they didn't know what she was doing but then they realized soon that she was inspecting them. It was unnerving how her cold eyes just passed on from person to person._

"_You in the bandana. Front and center." She called to Colonnello. Assuming she didn't mean any other person, Colonnello shrugged and strode to the front (facing Lieutenant Mirch). Lal pointed at his bandana and ordered: "Take it off."_

_Colonnello was somewhat hesitant. "Do I have to, Ma'am?"_

"_Affirmative. It's against regulations and some punk like you isn't above the rules." She sneered. "And for the time being, don't question my orders."_

"_Ma'am, yes, Ma'am." Colonnello sighed as he unwrapped the camouflage-print bandana._

_Lal Mirch gasped as she saw what the bandana was covering. Some others saw it too. They all had different sort of uneasy reactions. Colonnello knew this would happen, and remained indifferent._

_Colonnello had a scar that ran through his forehead and perhaps all the way to the back of his head. It was deep enough to indicate that someone had tried to cut his head open but went only as far as the skin shell and stopped at the skull. There were several stitch marks and the cut was pale red in color. It was healing, but the scar would remain visible._

"_What happened to you?" Lal kept her voice steady, controlling her emotions—barely._

"_I was an idiot to think I could take on an entire family and then emerge unscathed."_

"_Mafia?" Lal's tone trembled. "You took on an entire family on your own?"_

"_They were a small, weak family. Only about 25 members or so." Colonnello shrugged._

_Lal studied the scar again. She did not look in shock like before, but still felt uneasy._

"_My apologies." Lal bowed her head only slightly. "You may wear it again."_

"_Thank you, Ma'am." Said Colonnello as he wrapped the bandana around his head._

"_Return to your position." Lal nodded. Colonnello turned and strode back to his position._

_The thing about Lal Mirch is her extremely levelheadedness in almost every situation. She recovers her poise quickly and continued on with her duty as a trainer. She cleared her throat before speaking._

"_Alright, guys. Setting that aside," and she unlocked the safety of her M4. "You lot are the best of the new recruits, so consider yourselves the best of the worst. I'll warn you that people say I have hellish expectations. You'll get a feel of that soon enough." She almost grinned evilly._

_Beneath the beauty was a ferocious beast. That was the thought of most of Lal Mirch's trainees, as they trembled imagining the hell before them. All of them knew military life would be tough, and they were prepared for even more. But Mirch's training felt more like concentration camp or the enemy's prison camp. After several minutes without reply everybody jolted when Lal Mirch fired a shot from her M4 at the array. It landed just near a man in the last row, who suddenly looked terrified._

"_You were off-formation." Lal Mirch scolded. "This is one of the ways I'll fix that."_

_The man worked hard tiptoeing to a perfect alignment with the others._

"_Now, all of you. Time for warm-up: give me 500 push-ups. Now." She demanded._

_By the 320__th__ or so half of the men were reduced to tears. Lal wanted so many push-ups done in so little time. And she motivated them by firing a rain of bullets. It was torture both physically and mentally—it was just the warm-up._

Remembering the past is a difficult experience for anyone. Colonnello was no different as he had to close his eyes to fully concentrate. And it only succeeded in conjuring more questions. Lal knew Colonnello hated the mafia; the scar obviously wasn't just for show. All this time, _she knew._ Yet she kept pretending the illusion was real. All this time she was forcing Colonnello to live through a _lie_. Colonnello thought his happiness was real too, until he knew better that day. So the memory of made it all the more agonizing. All this time his best friend Lal Mirch was working for the enemy. He became a marine to protect the weak from criminals and unfairness. Ironic. He's being treated to an unfairness and by the mafia too!

It was like you've devoted your life to push the wheelchair of a person you thought was crippled, and then one day you see them in the morning jogging. It was a feeling that combines anger, betrayal, frustration, and sorrow. And Lal Mirch was the only person he really trusted in his life; it was a hurtful event for Colonnello. To think she was one of _them_. Technically, Lal would have been in serious trouble if word got out. In a nutshell, one of the military's job is to aid the police combat against the mafia due to their specialized skills and large manpower. _But hell, who knows if the mafia doesn't own the marines already? _Who's there to know if other families infiltrated as well?

Too worn-out to think logically and analytically, Colonnello tried to sleep and ended up having nightmares. The demons inside him were torturing his mind and wanted to make Lal Mirch suffer. Hoping that she was sobbing in her quarters, too. Or that she would be interrogated by the Vongola. Or court marshaled by the COMSUBIN. At the moment—if only he weren't exhausted—he would have succumbed to their evil wishes.

But he did not so instead he experienced a taunting memory of the deep scar he has on his forehead. The burning pain that almost drove him insane was resurrected up to the point when his attacker withdrew the dagger used to cut his forehead_._ Colonnello could hear his own scream of anguish echo throughout his slumber. The wielder of the bloody dagger was not the same person as reality remembered. _In this nightmare it was Lal Mirch._


	3. Just Because It's You

_Figures, she's not here_. Colonnello groaned as he sat down in one of the briefing rooms being lectured to a history of war strategies like they do in school. Most adequately, Lieutenant Juventus was giving the lecture as their trainer, substituting for Lal Mirch. Colonnello slouched on his desk, extremely wary. Lectures bore him anyway and his thoughts were fixated on Lal.

Several soldiers next to his desk looked at him in concern. They dare not actually _say_ it to his face, but they all mentally established that Colonnello and Lieutenant Mirch were together. If another soldier spoke of being in love with Lal they'd immediately tell him to "get over it or write a deathwish" because Lieutenant Mirch was "Colonnello's girlfriend, _sort of_." Sure, some would be disappointed and angry at Colonnello, but they were more horrified of what would happen to them if it turned out to be true and Lieutenant Mirch found out that they _found out_. At the very least, she'd skin them alive.

But they were all—suffering the same fate as to be whipped into shape by Mirch—genuinely worried for Colonnello. None of them could've imagined what sort of _thing_ would delay Lal Mirch from torturing them. Colonnello knew, obviously—it was his fault. Now was just a matter of _what he should do next_. He was half-reluctant, but then he gestured to a guy in the front row, named Toni. The man turned to Colonnello, Colonnello mouthed something and it took the man several seconds to figure out what Colonnello meant. Then he gave Colonnello a thumbs-up and Colonnello grinned a "thank-you."

"Sir! Question, sir!" the man raised his hand. The diversion was about to begin.

"What is it?" Lieutenant Juventus put down his whiteboard marker and walked near Toni's desk. It was weird how the situation felt more like a high school classroom.

"Well, um, what strategy should the Athenians have used to win World War II?" Toni blathered.

Colonnello chuckled a bit because it was ridiculous, but he was grateful still. And besides, dumb questions need to be answered _slowly _and _carefully_.

"Several corrections needed, but nevertheless…" Juventus started on a lecture on both Athenians and World War II. And that was pretty much Colonnello's cue. He made a dash to the door and Juventus did not notice any movement. _Easy_. With any other person it would've been impossible.

Colonnello realized when he was marching randomly in the COMSUBIN base that he had no idea where Lieutenant Mirch could be. _In her quarters, maybe_. _But then she'd be surrounded by a bunch of military junk she doesn't need_. After a lot of thought, he remembered something about an empty recreation room on the highest floor. Lal would probably be there, _for a change of scene_. Surreptitiously, he headed for the empty recreation room.

To his consternation, she wasn't there. There weren't any sign of her on the long way it took to get there, either. _Was it because he wasn't intent enough?_ After knowing Lal for so long, Colonnello felt like he was missing something obvious. He kept on pacing through the corridors without a particular direction in mind.

"_Colonnello, huh? What a terrible name…" her voice rang in his head._

"_What do you mean 'terrible'?" his mind replied._

"_I don't like it." Lal smiled bitterly, feigning dislike. "So it's 'Colonel' right? How condescending."_

"_It just means I'm better than you." Teased Colonnello._

"_Shut up." Lal scowled and hit him on the back of his head._

Reminiscing, Colonnello felt a numb tingle on his head where Lal had hit him. It was a bittersweet recall. After that memories soon began flowing one after the other. It used to be warm memories, but the recent incident made it stinging and painful to remember.

"_Don't get lazy on me! Finish your warm-up pushups!" Lal snarled as Colonnello stopped at 478._

"_Why do we have to do 500 anyway? You're so unreasonable." Whined Colonnello._

"_Shut up!" she hit him. "It builds physical strength and character." She muttered on._

"_Ahh, that's bullshit!" retorted Colonnello._

_Everybody else simply watched blankly as they finished their own pushups. If it was anyone else besides Colonnello that man would have his head on the floor by now. Colonnello said all the things they ever wanted to say to Lal Mirch, but was apparently too afraid to do so._

"_Be thankful I was easy on you!" sneered Lal. "Watch."_

_And at that moment she dropped on her chest and took a pushup position. Then everybody stared in awe as she finished 500 pushups in amazing time. And it wasn't just a pushup, it was a one-handed pushup. She did half with her left hand and half with her right._

"_I always wondered if you could actually do the things you tell us to do." mumbled Colonnello sluggishly._

"_Tch. Good enough for you?" spat Lal as she stood up and assumed composure, brushing dirt of her uniform._

When he thought about it, Lal was always especially nice to him. It appeared obvious with their relationship at first but when he recalled earlier memories, he noticed that Lal was never quite vicious with him in the first place. _I guess because of my scar_, he thought at the first time. Colonnello assumed that she just felt bad for exposing his scar, _and then there really was something else_.

He was still pacing around aimlessly. Colonnello cursed himself for being ignorant—_was this really the extent of my knowledge of her?_ It was only at a time like this would he realize that he actually did not know that much about Lal. _I should have paid closer attention, I should have been more concerned._

"_Whoa! You've got a really good eye." Exclaimed Colonnello in astonishment._

_Her shooting accuracy was perfect. The bullets weren't even a tenth-millimeter off target. And it hit the target so perfectly there wasn't really much noise in the shooting range. Colonnello watched as he entered the door. Lal lowered her weapon when she spotted Colonnello through the corner of her eye._

"_And? What business do you have here to disturb my training?"_

"_Ahh…I ran into Commander Orion—he says to tell you there's a meeting at 5." He replied innocently._

"_Oh. Well okay then, thanks." Lal replied brusquely, raising her M4 and turning to the shooting range._

"_Teach me how to do that." Colonnello stood still and refused to leave._

"_Sharpshooting? Why should I?" Lal mumbled. "It'll be such a hassle."_

"_You know I'm better than the others." Colonnello shrugged. "I don't think it'll be futile."_

_Lal seemed to actually consider the thought of teaching him, much to Colonnello's delight._

"_Tch. Grab yourself a gun from there and we'll see." Grumbled Lal as she pointed to the weapons storage. Colonnello grinned as he ran to the weapons room and picked up a reliable-looking G41._

_Lal drilled him hard—Colonnello was the first to be taught sharpshooting by her, and the only one she ever focused on so intensely. She was proud and excited of Colonnello, he had amazing strength and potential. Days and weeks went by and in no time she found herself a rival. Colonnello's accuracy was not done to the tenth-millimeter like Lal, but it was still extremely precise and he made up for it by shooting at a considerably faster speed than her. They had become very close through the shooting lessons._

"_I love you, Lal." Colonnello mumbled harmlessly after a day's worth of practice shooting with her._

"_What?" Lal turned and her cheeks turned red momentarily—Colonnello did not catch that._

"_Oh, umm…I meant thanks for the teaching, really." Colonnello explained._

"_Oh, well…yes. You damn better put it to good use." Lal cleared her throat._

"_I will." Colonnello smiled. The twinkle in his blue eyes mesmerized Lal. "And I'll use it to protect Lal."_

"_Idiot. I don't need protection." Sighed Lal. Colonnello moved closer to her, and their faces only a breadth distance from each other. Lal turned red again at the awkwardness of the situation._

"_I know that." Colonnello grinned—it had a more powerful impact due to the close distance. "But that doesn't mean you _can't_ be protected! Humans choose what they want to protect. And I want to protect Lal. So I _will_ protect Lal."_

And at that heartfelt memory it finally hit him. He scowled at himself for his stupidity and not realizing it sooner. Without hesitation he dashed to the 4th shooting range—the place Lal normally practices her shooting with him. Several officers were staring at Colonnello but they didn't dare question him—they had more or less of an idea of where he was heading. So they let him be. When he reached the 4th shooting room, he took a pause to catch his breath before opening the door.

What he saw first wasn't Lal Mirch. It was the many holes in all of the targets. It would have been a scene of maximum carnage if the wooden targets were actually real humans. Colonnello shuddered uneasily mentally picturing himself with a few dozen bullet holes in his body.

Lal dropped her M4 and glared at Colonnello. Her emotion wasn't quite unreadable—but it was hard to describe. It was as though she wanted to say a million things that should have been said at different times. Like her feelings were fighting with each other on who should go first. The look on her face was bloodcurling—as if to tear Colonnello's flesh any given moment. But at the same time it revealed lachrymose, like she was crying up to the point when Colonnello opened the door.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she growled.

"I want a clear explanation. Because I—" Colonnello said casually. Inside he was ranting, though.

"_You don't deserve any explanation I could give you_." She sneered.

"Fine." Colonnello shrugged bitterly. "_Because we always have to do it your way._"

Colonnello reached into his pants pocket and fished out a light but dependable dagger. He held it up front so that Lal could see it clearly. He took a deep breath so that all unnecessary emotions could disappear for a short moment. _He only wants to do what he needs to do._

"Fine!" He continued. "That's what all you guys are! _Liars._ Scum that only answer to violence_._"

There was a streak of anger in Lal's eyes for a moment. She scowled.

"Don't ever tarnish the name of the Vongola, Colonnello."

"I don't have to." Colonnello chuckled. "You bastards do just fine on your own."

_He was only thirteen at the time; a mature-minded boy for his age because his circumstances forced him to. Colonnello was an orphan as long as he can remember. There were several orphaned boys in his neighborhood, too. An old widow took care of him and the others—her name he does not remember. She owned a small restaurant named Leonardo (if his memory served him right), supposedly to honor her deceased husband._

_When he and the boys would ask her what had happened to her husband she would never answer. So when topics for talk were scarce they would discuss with one another their own ideas. Colonnello forgot who brought the idea up but since then it was accepted among them that he was killed by one of the crime families that would show up now and then—they didn't have the heart to confirm with the widow, of course._

_On a clear summer day he heard sobs and screams when he was on his way home—Colonnello had a habit of looking far at the sea on available days. He was then unsure of whether to turn and run far, far away or to pick up his pace home. Colonnello already suspected the worst. When Leonardo was in sight he reflexively dashed and a neighborhood lady stopped him._

"_Don't go in there." she held him tight, weeping while doing so._

"_Let me go!" roared Colonnello, struggling to break free. The lady had an unbelievably strong grab._

"_No! You must not!" she cried._

"_Darn! Let go of me you stupid lady!" he yelled as he broke free and ran at once to the door._

_He thought it was some sort of nightmare or cruel, cruel joke at first. As crude as he was he had never imagined such a horrifying scene before. Corpses of his friends were everywhere. On the table, on the floor, sprawled between chairs. He did not see the old lady's corpse (partly because he did not have the courage to look behind the counter) and he screamed long and hard._

"_Aaaaaarrrrgh!!!" he howled as the tears slowly fell from his eyes._

_He ran out wildly as because he was closing his eyes (so that he does not know who he stepped on—not that it was really possible to tell given their condition). The lady who tried to hold him was still there, sobbing and turning to Colonnello, deep pity in her eyes._

"_Who?!" he hollered at the lady. "Who are the sorry bastards that did it?!"_

_Colonnello wasted no time in tracking down the hideout of the Melvino Family. The more he found out about them the angrier he was. They were just some small-fry family trying to show off in the outskirts of Sicily. They sounded like the guys Colonnello wouldn't have a hard time beating the shit out of. So he grabbed his knife (it was a present from the guys at Leonardo—for household work like cutting ropes and such) and headed for revenge._

_The lackeys who were guarding the entrance weren't tough at all. Colonnello got through most of them quickly. He was agile and he knew to aim at the heart, head, or throat. So he did not waste that much of his strength. It was one mistake as he was fighting possibly the boss and the strongest members that they seized the opportunity to restrain him._

_Colonnello seized a gun that visibly fell from a man he just murdered. The safety was still unlocked so he assumed he could save time by shooting at them. It proved to be stupid because Colonnello has never even touched a gun. He aimed at one man's head and tried to pull the trigger (it proved to be heavier than he thought). The bullet fired barely scraped his shoulder._

"_Fuck." He said as the remaining men heatedly seized him._

"_Take shooting lessons first, dummy!" one man jeered at him._

_And Colonnello spat at his face._

_They beat him up until he was paralyzed before the boss stole Colonnello's knife and began to cut the forehead. It was immensely painful but strangely he did not make a sound. He waited for the right moment to concentrate all his remaining strength and as the boss withdrew the dagger, Colonnello snatched the knife and pierced at the man's skull with all his strength. It didn't take long before they were all defeated._

"So anyway," Colonnello shrugged. "I'll just have to force this sharp knife here down your _lying throat_."

"You'd really do that?" Lal questioned him still.

"Why not? I don't think killing a hitman is against the law. You know, a long time ago they mentioned something about 'orders from the Vongola'. Well, I killed them before I could ask them about these Vongola people."

"We're not the family that was in your horrible past, you know." Lal pointed out.

"Doesn't make much difference to me." Retorted Colonnello. "You guys are born of the same filth."

And he charged at Lal, who was trembling slightly but surprisingly stood still. Colonnello stared at her eyes all that time. When Colonnello was close enough, he dropped his knife and before Lal could say anything he touched her cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the lips. Gently he embraced her and stroked her soft black hair. Lal pushed him away, furious.

"_What the hell is with you?!_" she screamed. The red flushes on her cheeks could have been due to either her anger or embarrassment. Or both.

"_I love you, Lal_." Colonnello stood close to her still, his eyes earnestly locked into hers.

"But you just—" Lal scowled. Colonnello kissed her again.

"I'll say it again, Lal." Colonnello smiled. "_I love you._"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" scoffed Lal, tears started to fill her eyes.

"It means…" he hugged her tightly, ignoring Lal's anger. "That you are the most important thing to me. That I don't want to lose you and that I'll always protect you. _And that I love you because you're Lal Mirch_."

"You. Are. An. _Idiot_." Lal scowled, her tears betrayed her, though. "An arrogant, airheaded, useless, immature, disrespectful, self-centered _idiot!_"

"…you love me though, right?" Colonnello grinned as he whispered in her ear.

To this Lal Mirch did not reply. She just wiped her tears and embraced him back. Not saying a word. Colonnello kissed her again and finally let go.

* * *

**Note:** Long chapter!!! Hope you all liked it! I'm so tired and midterms are coming up soon so I'll be studying and not starting on next chapter for about 1-2 weeks or so. Just 2 more chapters to go! (I know this kinda seemed like the ending but trust me it's not). By the way, thanks for all the reviews and favorites and story alerts! You guys are so sweet.


	4. Girl Beloved

Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry 1000x Hontou ni gomenasai!!!

I'm a jerk, a horrible heartless jerk, I know. SAT and school and all were really pissing me off and taking my time. Sure, it doesn't excuse my extreme rudeness to you guys but I just hope all off you at least forgive me before burning me at the stake for insolence. I really did do a bad thing.

So thanks to everybody who is reading this and SORRY again to those who were waiting for this chapter. Hope this doesn't disappoint. For what it's worth, it's longer than the other chapters.

- Bara no Hitsugi

* * *

Colonnello was lying down on the grass, sleeping. The breeze comforted him and the albatross flying high overhead just about blocked the sun from his view. The warmth of his surroundings embraced him as he dozed off—not exactly dreaming. Although everything did seem so surreal.

"_I hate you." Lal scowled as he walked out the door._

"_Aww…I love you too sweetie." He grinned back._

"_Call me _'sweetie'_ again and I'll kill you." Lal snapped. And she wasn't kidding._

"_Well, I'm sorry, okay? Not just for that but for doing _this_ also."_

"_Don't be." she shrugged. "It probably won't work out between us anyway."_

"_Lal, don't say stuff like that." Colonnello waved to her as he walked out. And Lal wondered if she was ever actually going to see him again._

Slowly he opened his eyes, and his pupils met with the bright noon sun. He winced as he sat up straight before being blinded by the sun's rays, hoping to see a face that's all-too-welcome in his heart. None. Nobody. He realized Lal Mirch was still with the COMSUBIN, drilling her ex-comrades mercilessly. Or maybe at wherever the Vongola headquarters were. But definitely not where he was. He felt stupid for even thinking of that.

Now, where exactly is "here"? Colonnello questioned the twist of fate that ended him up to where he was. He loved the place, sure, but the phenomenon in it was just simply bizarre. He stared out at the vast, shimmering ocean—as if trying to piece together some fond memories. The relaxing atmosphere made him forget almost everything—or at least think it would be of no consequence.

"_Fancy meeting you here…well, not really."_

_A male voice greeted him when he was drinking some red wine at a bar. He quit the COMSUBIN—thus enjoying the pleasure of alcohol at last. Colonnello also had some additional issues to settle and he also wanted to try what wine actually tasted like._

"_You've got to be kidding me!" Colonnello groaned in disbelief as he turned to the man._

_Colonnello only saw this man once or perhaps twice in his life—but the man's impression is never to be forgotten. The ex-officer recalled the day he met the man, and scowled wordlessly._

"_Did Lal Mirch break up with you?" the man teased, gesturing to Colonnello's glass of wine._

_A shiver sent down Colonnello's spine as the chameleon on the man's fedora looked at him the same sneering way the man did._

"_Fuck off." Colonnello mumbled, defying his unease._

He smiled. It was an ambiguous smile, of many meanings. He thought it was stupid of him to become one of them now. Well, technically he was not _one _of them exactly. But he was part of their world. He didn't feel like scum. Although he thinks he should. He betrayed the feeling of conscience that has guided him for as long as he knew. Did he lose his human dignity? _How did I stoop so low?_

Lal Mirch's face formed in his mind. The image was beautiful, but somewhat foggy. He has forgotten what her face looks like exactly. Like whether her smile had always been so bright. Or whether her hair always had a navy blue shine. Or if her eyebrows creased wrinkles on her forehead. _And were her eyes brown or burgundy? _Such details he could no longer remember. Colonnello's smile turned into a grim frown.

Does he not love her anymore? Does he no longer feel any fondness towards her? He could not blame himself—these things happen. And when such _things_ happen nothing anyone does will fix it. It's just gone forever. But is it really happening? Or was he merely inside a diversion? He doesn't want to think about it any longer.

It was a nice place he lives in now. A beautiful island by the sea. Where the waters are glistening below the shining sun and the sandy beaches create a near-perfect sanctuary for a guy like him. Kind tourists visit all the time—each of them worldly and friendly, always welcoming whenever he visited the hotel area. The food he was served wasn't anything horrible either. And if he got bored he could always head to the local bar or the arcade and amusement park. Life was good on this island—more sufficient than any life Colonnello hoped for. It was flawless, well, _almost flawless._

_Does it really matter that this is Mafia Land?_

Apparently it does. To Colonnello, at least. As exquisite as the island was, there were times when the island would summon his paranoia. Causing a mixture of emotions that surface unintentionally. Thinking the amiable tourists were merely feigning innocence, or if the kind bartender is putting on a façade, or if any other island workers were not treating him sincerely. _It certainly could happen_. Unlikely that it should—but Colonnello was obviously unaware of that.

There really was no reason for him to be so distrustful. First, most of Mafia Land were genuinely kind people. Some mafia, but Reborn had told Colonnello that those with malicious intentions would never be allowed entry into Mafia Land. _The Vongola Family protects civilians, _Reborn said. _Along with the Cavallone we're quite an effective alliance._ Colonnello thought that it was all a load of bullshit, but he knew to hold his tongue sometimes when dealing with Reborn.

_Second, he was strong_. Colonnello may not involve himself too much in certain life-or-death fights—such was the situation when he was still in the COMSUBIN—but he knew that he could take on 20 average armed men singlehandedly if he had to, most likely even more. With the COMSUBIN he fought alongside his comrades. But in Mafia Land he'll be the only one defending himself. Taking on a few _mafioso_ shouldn't be a problem for him. _Unless they were freaks like Reborn_. It was more his intense feeling of not ever wanting to touch the mafia. _So why, pray, would a man like Colonnello be doing in a place like Mafia land?_

"_How rude. Was that army talk or do you just not know manners?" Reborn said calmly._

_Colonnello set down his glass of martini and sighed, somewhat ashamed. He realized there really was no need for such language. There was so much in his mind at the moment that he lost control over himself. It shall not happen again._

"_My bad. You just startled me." Colonnello mumbled an apology._

"_She did teach you some manners after all."_

_The man smiled. It was a real smile—not faking any emotions. It unnerved Colonnello intensely. He looked at the man and his expressions softened. Colonnello laughed for the first time in a long time. For a while he was alone with no sense of direction. In a way, somewhere deep in his heart, Colonnello was glad he met the strange hitman again._

"_I guess she did, Reborn. How have things been?" said Colonnello in good-mannered courtesy._

_Reborn was taken aback at Colonnello's sudden warming up to him. Was he perhaps drunk? Or is this a pathetic attempt to lower Reborn's guard? Or is he an authentic, unpredictable idiot? Reborn analyzed his options mentally and decided it was closest to the first._

"_Did you drink too much alcohol perhaps?" Reborn asked. Only slightly concerned._

_Colonnello grinned, somewhat expecting the remark. "As if I'll be drunk around guys like you."_

"_Yeah…right…" Reborn smirked wickedly. He understood what Colonnello had meant, he just wanted to tease him for saying something so weird-sounding. _Pray, what kind of guy _is _he drunk around, then?

"_S-shut up! That's not what I meant!" Colonnello's cheeks flushed red. Partly from the martini also._

_Reborn's smirk faded into a chuckle. He greeted Colonnello properly before taking a seat next to him._

"Lal, if you hate me for this…I'd understand completely." Colonnello found himself saying unconsciously.

In a way, he hated himself too. How did he defy his principles and got involve with the very people he hated? Sure, he was in love with Lal Mirch. But how should that have made a difference? A wolf disguised amongst the sheep is still a wolf. _Lal is still one of them._

That was why he quit the COMSUBIN. _Personal unresolved issues,_ he said when Lal pressed for his reason. Indubitably she never bought his explanation—Colonnello himself thought it was only a bunch of bullshit. But Lal allowed him to go regardless, realizing that Colonnello did need to regain his real feelings. Perhaps she knew more about him than he did at the time.

A Mafia land worker called for him from the entrance—Colonnello lived on the other side of Mafia land, a place off-limits to tourists. It was a Mafia training ground. Reborn named it Mafia Land Underground when he first showed Colonnello the place—it was a badass name, he thought.

"There's a girl saying she wants to see you. Should I bring her here?" the worker asked.

"A girl? Did she say her name?" Colonnello stood up and straightened himself.

The worker shook his head. "She only mentioned that she was Reborn's girlfriend."

A person saying they are somehow related to the Reborn would have been enough to gain them access virtually anywhere in the mafia world, as long as they have proof to support their claim. Colonnello knew who it was that was looking for him, he remembered her name even though they have only talked to each other once before.

"Oh…well, tell her to wait at the underground train station. I'll head there." Colonnello said.

_A woman took the seat next to Reborn. Colonnello noticed that she was with Reborn and was quiet when Reborn first greeted Colonnello. She wasn't exactly the shy type, though. Not by the magenta lipstick or the rock star tank top or black studded boots she was wearing. Colonnello would've felt intimidated if not for her content and gentle smile._

"_Bianchi. Colonnello." Reborn nodded in each direction to introduce the two._

"_Hi." Bianchi gestured. "Hey." Colonnello greeted back._

"_Colonnello is Lal's girlfriend. Or so I've heard." Reborn started the conversation._

"_Ha-ha. Very funny, Reborn." The ex-officer replied to Reborn's witty comment._

_Colonnello noticed that Reborn was not the type to hold back on something for anyone, from the manner in which he talked about Lal and Colonnelo to Bianchi. Then Bianchi's face seemed to brighten at words like "girlfriend", "feelings" and "love"—she wasn't as punk as she seems._

"_Lal Mirch? That's so sweet of her! How cute…" she said cheerfully._

"_Yeah." Reborn nodded. "That Lal Mirch and this Colonnello."_

"_Oh. I see." Colonnello smiled as if nothing was wrong._

"_It's lovely that you two are going out." Bianchi remarked._

"_Well, they broke up." Reborn came in before Colonnello could react._

"_Reborn!" Colonnello yelled at the hitman._

"_What? It's true, isn't it?"_

"_Aww…what happened?" Bianchi asked in pure concern._

"_Well, it's like…" Colonnello stammered._

"_It's complicated."_

"_Will you stop doing that, Reborn?!"_

_Reborn blinked innocently. "Doing what?"_

"_Never mind then. Well I just sorta left her. Ending up at this very spot." Colonnello sighed._

"_Why would you leave her?"_

_Bianchi looked deeply curious. And from what Colonnello can tell she has no malice intended. So he was comfortable in opening up to her._

"_To find some things out for myself, I guess. Both of us know that I need to set some things straight."_

"_So you didn't really break up with her?" concluded Bianchi._

"_Yeah. I suppose you could say that." Colonnello agreed._

_Then Bianchi asked again and again. She was like a therapist in the middle of a session or a teacher with a dazed student—always ready with questions, trying to help. He told her everything. How he met Reborn, his traumatic past, his relationship with Lal Mirch—everything. Up to the previous month when he decided he must do something about his complex feelings—when he left her. Bianchi then asked a seemingly innocent—but deep and puzzling—question._

"_So, do you still love her?"_

Since he confessed to Lal that day, Colonnello's feelings were more unstable than usual. He would often get into conflicts with another voice inside him. Lal was perfect and he wanted to be with her forever, _except for the fact that she's also in what I'm ultimately against._ Was she even his enemy? Hardly. He knew he was being ridiculous on his logic. Lal doesn't think so, however. She'd snarl every now and then for him to stop being a hypocrite—especially when he gives her the "silent treatment" the day after she was absent from the COMSUBIN base. Arguments would break out and things started to change. Then he decided to leave. Needless to say Lal forgave him long before.

Bianchi was the only one at the underground train station, waiting for the ex-COMSUBIN officer. At her presence Colonnello assumed that Reborn was on the island too, having some mafia-related business to attend to.

"He'll see you later." Bianchi said, confirming his assumption.

Colonnello greeted the freelance hitman warmly. They were quite good friends. The two headed to the bar at the visitor area of Mafia land, conversing idly.

"How have you been?" Colonnello asked.

"Good actually. My brother's been more work for me than my actual job." She laughed.

"You have a brother?" Colonnello blinked.

"Yeah. From a different mother. He's 8 years old. And he's such a rebellious kid I still need to baby-sit him. Causing trouble wherever he goes and talking in rudely to everybody. And he's _so_ _loud_."

"Must've been tough." Colonnello chuckled.

"He's a very sweet boy on the inside. And _very clever_." Bianchi beamed.

"I see. And how is Reborn doing?" smiled Colonnello.

"Fine, I suppose. He never tells me for sure."

And with that, they boarded a train taking them to the happier side of Mafia Land. They passed by some attraction stalls and rides like that of an amusement park, talking happily. Some glanced at him and his intimidating assault rifle as well as military fatigues, most just dismissed him as a performer or some island patrol.

"You haven't met anyone besides me and Reborn, right?" Bianchi asked as they entered a bar.

"I've met a guy named Sawada Iemitsu." Said Colonnello as he took his seat across Bianchi. "He's not one of you, is he? Brought his wife and a kid along several months ago. I figured he was lost since he was strolling around Mafia Land Underground. But his name sounded important and he wanted to talk to me."

"Talk to you? About what?"

"Nothing special." Colonnello shrugged. "He kept striking up random conversation topics whenever I try to escort him to the train station. The sea, ladies, beer…that kind of thing_._ Never told me he was mafia, though."

Bianchi looked at Colonnello wordlessly, because the young man had no clue who he talked to that day. Things would have been different if he knew, she noticed. For better or for worse, she wasn't sure.

"Sawada Iemitsu, is the head of the Vongola External Advisors Squad. He is, as ranks go, equal to the Ninth himself. In fact, I hear his son is the heir to Vongola himself."

"The son? The innocent-looking boy he was with? No way!"

"With proper training he will become a great Vongola then." Bianchi smiled. "But that's not the point. Iemitsu has several direct subordinates reporting to him, of course. One of them is Lal Mirch."

Colonnello stared at her stupidly, realizing what had just happened to him months ago.

"Lal must've talked to him about you. She's such a sweet girl under the brute behavior." Bianchi laughed. "And Iemitsu is responsible for Lal's well-being in every way. He's as close a father she has. Sort off."

"So without knowing, I was talking to _her DAD_ that day?!!" Colonnello nearly shrieked.

"Sort of. You know he's not really her dad. He's just a very nice man." Bianchi shrugged.

"Great. I meet the Dad and I don't even know I did. That woman is so troubling sometimes." Grumbled the blonde ex-officer.

"You didn't say anything weird, did you?"

"About the sea: As an ex-COMSUBIN I told him it seems like a very dangerous place. About ladies: I told him I've never really met a real girl. About beer: I've only started drinking recently so I'm not knowledgeable in that field."

"My God you're boring, Colonnello! _But you told him you haven't met a real girl?_"

"Lal, you mean? She's amazing and all but she's not the least bit ladylike. And you really think I'm boring?"

"Either that or your personality's all messed up. You shouldn't have said that about Lal though. She might've been hurt. But knowing Iemitsu, I think he'll forgive you."

"So either way I have the father's permission, you're saying? To do _what_ exactly?!" snarled Colonnello.

Bianchi laughed again at Colonnello's naïveté. Colonnello was honestly confused as to what is going on.

"Okay, so you said so yourself that Lal isn't exactly a 'girl'. So how often do you think does she fall in love with someone who'll love her back?"

"I dunno. But she's very pretty so maybe…" Colonnello mumbled.

"You think so? The way she acts?_ I'll bet you anything she was happiest when she knew you loved her_."

The thought had never once crossed Colonnello's inexperienced mind.

"Iemitsu noticed her smiles. All of us did. Not many knew _why_ but Lal Mirch always never smiled in front of us. All of us were curious as to why she was so happy."

"She never told me any of this."

"And why would she? If this is the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to her surely she'd take care of it and fear the moment it would shatter?"

"I guess not." Colonnello sighed.

"You left her. She may have cursed and ranted when you left, putting on a strong face. But _you left her_."

_Hmm, made sense._ Colonnello thought as he felt his brain malfunctioning at his own stupidity. All this time he thought _he_ was the one being selfish. To love someone he shouldn't actually love. Going so far as betraying _himself_ for Lal Mirch. He was afraid to lose her—it was normal to be afraid of losing someone you love. He did not take time to realize that his contradiction made Lal scared and worried. _Scared of being unloved._

Sweatdrops trickled from his frame of blonde hair and from underneath his bandana. Bianchi watched as he soaked it all in. _Foolish man,_ she thought. Barely knowing the world and _extremely_ inexperienced with ladies. _Not even realizing he broke up with his girlfriend_. He really did need her help.

"Lal's been unhappy lately." She said slowly. "Care to guess why?"

Colonnello needed to gulp down a glass of cold water before he could speak again.

"How do I fix this?" he sighed helplessly.

"Depends." Bianchi smiled softly. "_Do you love her?_"

Colonnello began to croak out an answer before he heard the whole bar fell silent in a second. Someone just came in that had a powerful presence on the others. And after seeing Bianchi's face brighten joyfully, he figured out who it was.

"Reborn." He waved at the hitman at the door. Reborn smirked in reply.

"…_So remind me again why you brought me here?" Colonnello asked Reborn._

_The hitman had brought him to a beautiful island, seemingly paradise. They were out talking on a quieter side of the island, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists. A place with soft grass and sand and a clearer view of the sea. All with a warm, tropical breeze._

"_This is Mafia Land. A place the Vongola and their alliances go on vacation."_

_Colonnello gave Reborn a look of both revolt and confusion. _Mafia on vacation?

"_Everybody needs a break from work once in a while." Reborn shrugged._

"_No, that's not the point…" Colonnello sighed weakly._

"_Anyways! You should be thanking me. Offering you a job since COMSUBIN fired you." Reborn smirked._

"_I wasn't fired!" Colonnello ranted._

"_And being your friend when your girlfriend broke up with you."_

"_She didn't break up with me!"_

"_But really, how could I say no after you came to me crying?" continued Reborn._

"_I did no such thing!" Colonnello roared._

"_And I'm here to help you out. Because that's what I do. _I help people._" Reborn grinned._

"_Sounds incredibly suspicious coming from you."_

"_The job is simple." Reborn decided to change the topic. "Protect this place."_

"_Mafia Land?" Colonnello raised his voice in disbelief. "From like what the police and the military?"_

"_Not this Mafia Land, no. Mostly from the families against the Vongola. You'll be like a coast guard."_

"Against other families? _No fucking way am I fighting your corrupted battles."_

"_Did you forget that this is a vacation spot?" reasoned Reborn as Colonnello turned away. "Most of us will survive if an enemy decides to attack this place. But what about the women and children? The innocent?"_

_Colonnello stopped. Once a COMSUBIN officer, it was also his job to protect the unprotected. The offer did seem okay. There was certainly nothing wrong with trying to protect and island of complacent people who just wanted a nice vacation. And wouldn't it be the perfect time to get over his hatred of the Mafia? At least to try to understand what kind of stuff Lal deals with besides the guys at the COMSUBIN. The look on Reborn's face implied that he knew perfectly well what Colonnello was going to answer._

"Gianinni's radar detected some enemy ships heading towards this island." Reborn announced.

He, Colonnello, and Bianchi hastily walked out of the bar. Colonnello stopped a few paces from the bar as he put his index finger and his thumb in his mouth and whistled loudly. Reborn and Bianchi was about to ask what he was doing but soon enough they could hear the caw of an albatross soaring overhead. It then swooped down and rested on Colonnello's left shoulder.

Colonnello stroked the bird's feathers as the bird made some unintelligible squawks and chirps. Then Colonnello smiled at the bird and turned to the others. The albatross flew away.

"I was just asking him how many ships he saw. About 15. Should be pretty easy." He grinned.

"Too much sun must have melted your brain and made you insane. Talking to birds." Reborn said blatantly.

"This coming from a guy with a chameleon on his hat?" Colonnello retorted.

"That's different. Leon is my partner."

"Like Falco is my partner then." Colonnello smirked.

"Whatever. So do your job then, officer. Just tell us how much backup you need and how much cannons to use." Reborn sighed impatiently.

"If you can find me a decent spot and an anti-tank rifle I should be able to do it alone." Said Colonnello.

"This I want to see." Bianchi smiled in excitement.

"Don't be stupid. I know you're an idiot but many people on this island might die."

"I'm naval elite. There's no way anybody could beat me in this kind of place." Snarled Colonnello.

Reborn and Bianchi blinked at Colonnello's sudden aggressive behavior.

"My trainer is Lal Mirch, dumbass." Laughed Colonnello.

"Your better crush those ships that piss off the Ninth." Reborn said in a threatening way.

The three took off to start the counterattack.

He tried to adjust himself to the anti tank rifle provided for him by the Vongola artillery. Colonnello was excited—the weapon was better than he hoped for. He checked the ammunitions beside him and then took firing position. Reborn and Bianchi watched from a distance. After several seconds Colonnello fired the first shot. They waited 5 more seconds until a torrent of bullets came firing from Colonnello's anti-tank rifle.

Loud and annoying fires that went on and on for 20 minutes. Reborn could see that Colonnello knew what he was doing. One by one the ships sank or exploded before they came close to the coast. Bianchi watched happily—she noticed those were definitely shots taught by Lal Mirch. Not as accurate, but faster and just as deadly. Within 20 minutes it was over. Without anybody on the island breaking a sweat.

"She taught you well." Reborn complimented.

"Hell yes she did." Colonnello beamed proudly. Then recalled the sudden pang of guilt at the thought of his ex-trainer and ex-girlfriend.

"So, _do you love her?_" Came Bianchi.


End file.
